The Summer Of
by MissLoremasterSarah
Summary: Emma is overjoyed when returning to the Gold Coast early at the decision of her parents, probably to go to college. But she still has that one summer back home, and can surprise Cleo and Rikki. Maybe even Ash. However, she is more surprised when she finds a honey blonde mermaid in their moon pool! And at the cafe. And at Cleo's house. Upon a startling...REST OF SUMMARY INSIDE.
1. Chapter 1

_**Summary:** Emma is overjoyed when returning to the Gold Coast early at the decision of her parents, probably to go to college. But she still has that one summer back home, and can surprise Cleo and Rikki. Maybe even Ash. However, she is more than surprised when she finds a honey blonde mermaid in their moon pool! And at the cafe. And at Cleo's house. Upon a startling realization, Emma finds herself in a situation involving her friendship with the other girls. And she, for once, doesn't have a clue on what to do about it._

_A/N: Hello readers! I know that this may seem like just another cliche _"Emma Returns", _but stick around for a few chapters; see if this _is _worthy of your reading time. Without further ado, I present to you, _The Summer Of.

_Disclaimer: I'm saying this once—I own nothing except for my own plot. The H2O series is owned by Jonathan M. Shiff Productions._

**Chapter One: Missing This**

Emma needed to swim. To mako. This instant. All of that traveling, and while she was slightly worn out, she needed to clear her head. It was what she did before growing a tail, and what she does after becoming a "fish freak."

God, she was still trying to process it. Her parents spring it on her that they were going to travel the world for three freaking years and decide that one was enough. Of course, she was more than glad her parents shortened their trip. She was getting tired of her tutor, Ms. Holt, and she was sure that Elliot was becoming weary of his, even if she was an attractive, leggy Latino. She was tired of being nauseated nearly all of the time. She was tired of not taking a swim, _ever_. She was tired of being on the edge around any form of water, and that was hard, traveling so much via a freaking cruise. But mostly, she was tired of missing her friends.

Sure, she could have made new friends, or comrades, at the very least. But she longed for someone that she could share _everything_ with. Rikki, Cleo, and herself shared a secret that almost no one else could understand. That was the main reason why they were all so close. Mrs. Chatham was the only other living mermaid that she knew of besides her friends.

She knew she didn't have to share everything, but traveling so much never gave her the opportunity to really connect with people, so her loneliness only grew.

The girl laid on her comfortable bed, back in her _real _house. Yeah, in the fall, she would enroll in college and live in a dorm, but right now, she felt secure in her house.

She didn't know how her family was able to move back into their old house, but here they were. Apparently, the man who bought it from the Gilberts was old and wealthy; he always had his grandchildren over. He died from heart failure, and the family sold the house. It actually was kind of creepy to know that someone, now deceased, lived in her house. But, her room made her finally feel truly at home.

Fingering the replacement for her silver locket, Emma thought of Cleo and Rikki, and even Mrs. Chatham. She could barely contain her excitement—she could finally see her friends again! She knew that Cleo still lived in her dad's house, despite losing contact with her and Rikki. Thank God for the internet; she searched it as soon as she arrived at the airport coming home. But the only thing that she knew about Ash was that he went to a community college.

Now at eighteen years old, Emma was able to attend college. Even though she was very well educated by her private tutor, she still wanted to get a degree. And her parents did as well. She supposed that is why they shortened their trip. She had already applied when she was seventeen, and deferring her education was indeed acceptable. She reflected on the fact that she had one summer before on the college craziness began, so she decided to try to lead life like she did before the whole "Bon voyage!" fiasco. Maybe apply to the cafe. She knew that the Juice-Net had shut down, but that a new cafe was in its place. She decided to look into it tomorrow.

Standing up, Emma tip-toed out of her house, grabbing a few things on her way out. She knew that her parents wouldn't allow her to go out right after getting back from their journey. They would just make her unpack even _more._

She took in everything as she walked. Oh, how she missed everything, even the annoying parts, like how her bedroom having a perfect view of the moon, luckily it wasn't full tonight. After a little bit of walking, she inhaled the salty smell of the sea. Emma knew that she was close, and hastened her pace. She quickly made her way to Lewis's secret fishing spot. It had reminded her of the first time, the time they had decided to put the water transformation to the test.

Setting down her bag containing her towel and cell phone, she ran into the water, and dived when she was deep enough. Her tanned legs transformed into her orange tail, and she sped away to Mako. She paused along the way, staring at beautiful reefs and the colorful fish. Careful not to touch any coral (you know what happened when she got that strange fish fever), she stopped to look at the fish. Loving the feeling of the water on her skin, the way that the entrance to the moon pool looked, she lingered there for a few moments, before diving in.

Expecting to see their little underwater cave, she rose through the water, thinking of the sand and night sky shining above it, the stones and—_What the hell?_

**~o~O~o~**

_A/N: Cliffhanger! Not really, if you can guess what our missed-in-season-3 Emma saw. Would it be Byron, who happened to be a merman and stalked her ever since she got together with Ash? Of course not! Maybe…Anyways, I would like to thank my awesome beta, _**watergirl22! **_Sources used for research: h2o wiki. I would love to hear what you have to say, so remember to review!_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: I'm back! After like, a day…No longer a big deal, I guess. You can be expecting updates at least every other day if my beta or I don't have any wifi problems. Before you read, shoutouts must be given to the lovely people who reviewed! I literally freaked the few times I saw that someone reviewed. Or followed. Or favorited. I won't do those that have followed in case H2O is a guilty pleasure or something. I'm sorry; the excitement comes with posting a first story. Anyways, (for reviews) thanks to:_

_-fishboy99_

_-BrokenHudie_

_-fantasylunargirl_

**Chapter 2: What the Hell Am I Supposed To Do Now?**

_What the hell? _The moon pool had dark stony walls with little rivulets running down. Some kind of blue crystalsappeared in crevices along the dark stone, but what surprised Emma the most was a mermaid sitting in the moon pool, and that mermaid was most definitely not Cleo, Rikki, not even Charlotte what with her honey-blonde hair and tanned skin. And Charlotte isn't even a mermaid anymore! Right?

Unmoving, the other girl looked equally shocked and could not take her eyes off of her, like she was some intruder violating the laws of nature. Well, maybe she was, but that other girl was too! They were both part _fish_, and she swam into _their _little hangout? The place that was responsible for_ their _transformation?

_Oh God,_ she thought, _I need to get out of here! _After all, she didn't know her and she could be like Charlotte—evil to the core but with the most power.

Desperate for an escape route, she quickly glanced around the cave once more, spotting the tiny streams on the walls, and lifted her hand to freeze them in an instant. The other girl whipped her head around, following her hand movement. Both of them could hear the water hardening into ice crystals.

With the other mermaid momentarily distracted, Emma darted out of the moon pool, going her 600 kilometers per hour.

Her reunion with Cleo and Rikki wasn't going to be as jolly as she expected. While she would still surprise them, Emma figured that they would be more shocked with the news of another mermaid, their age, nonetheless. Maybe she had attended school with them. But in order to find out, Emma needed to prepare a description. _Let's see here, _she thought. _Slim but curvy, honey-blonde hair…_

**~o~O~o~**

The honey-blonde stared after the fleeing mermaid in shock.

What the hell was she supposed to do?

First, that girl swam into the moon pool, meaning that she was no stranger to it. Then again, she did look shocked when she looked around, and she froze the freaking wall! She had heard enough stories about _their_ traveling friend, never mind her powers! Even if that power wasn't partial to her, she definitely fit the description.

_Oh God, she's probably going to tell them, and then that over-controlling 'friend' will flip out on them for exposing them once she hears the story…Oh God, they're going to replace me with _her._ We all know about that evil redhead, four is trouble…_Her thoughts trailed off. Going off of stories she was fed by them, she started making up her mind about this girl, and it wasn't positive, no matter how much they praised her. Thoughts flew through her mind, coming and going faster than she could swim.

_What the hell was she doing here? I thought that she's supposed to be in Brazil or something!_

And then another came to mind.

_He's going to know that I blew off our date because I just couldn't control myself around the alcohol! Ugh, I'm so STUPID!_

If she wasn't hung-over from the more-than-spiked punch last night at Zane's party, she would probably reason that she was overreacting. Then again, she wouldn't even be ditching her boyfriend if she wasn't hung-over. Movement usually feels like torture to those people who had too much to drink the night before, but whenever she gets a headache or is nauseous, she immediately has to swim and get away from everyone; it helped her clear her head, ever since she was a little girl—which was why she was missing her date.

_Why?_ She was just too tempted to have some once she knew that the red, fruity drink contained a little something-something. Hey, Zane called her a goody two-shoes (even though he had NO idea what she got into). And she was just too damn stubborn to let it slide. _No, _her own voice mocked her, _you just HAD to prove him wrong…_

She honestly thought that she would never have been able to get through a date with her boyfriend without puking over her shoes. And then, there would be her loving boyfriend, giving her a look that shouted disappointment.

_Maybe he would understand and forgive me, _she thought, but she had bigger problems to worry about. Now, she might later think that she was overreacting, and that she should be more accepting of their friend, but she has never had friends so close before. She didn't want to lose them or be left out like countless times before. One final thought flooded through her mind all the way back to the house.

_The Ice Queen is back. Now what?_

**~o~O~o~**

_A/N: I'm pretty sure that we ALL know who the honey-blonde is. If you were expecting a stalking-merman-Byron, sorry to disappoint. And you know how the moon pool got wrecked? Well, seeing as it's the moon pool, I figured that the mermaids somehow cleared it out. Anyways, thanks to my beta, _**watergirl22!** _And remember to review; they make me happy. _


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: I realized that I forgot to thank those of you who have followed and favorited. It means a lot to me. And _**watergirl22 **_could not beta this chapter, unfortunately, so please, though I'm basically a Grammar Nazi, everyone makes mistakes. Please point out any to me, and I'll be sure to fix it. Alright, now on with the story!_

**Chapter Three: Reunions and Encounters**

_Hold up, the Juice-Net was bought by Zane_?_ And named _Rikki's?_ Damn, that boy has it hard, _Emma thought, sipping on her coconut drink.

She barely paid attention to the practice of this band that was set up behind her; her mind was on a more urgent matter. As Rikki and Cleo were going to arrive any minute, she had already ordered their favorite juices.

Cleo walked in, and saw Emma. She quickly went over, and the two stood up and hugged.

"Oh my God, when did you get back?" Cleo asked, surprise still evident in her voice.

"Oh, late last night. We moved back into our old house."

"That's really cool. What happened when you were abroad, Miss Emma? Meet any hot, exotic boys?" Cleo jokingly said, raising her eyebrows.

"I didn't see any point to looking for guys when I was just going to leave in a week," Emma said sadly, thinking of Ash. Though that was partially true, she had kind of been hoping that he would be single when she got back, no matter how foolish the thought was. She couldn't just give up on him. She trusted her biggest secret with him, and it took quite a while for her to do so. She could only hope that the girls couldn't have been so foolish as to give that honey-blonde _their_ secret. Knowing how trusting Cleo was, she wouldn't put it past her to give it away to someone she only knew for a week.

They continued to talk for a few minutes, about Emma's adventures (which were limited), and the opening of Rikki's (leaving out the water tentacle amongst…other things) until Rikki arrived. Of course, hugs were exchanged, as were questions and answers.

"Wait, wait. You and Zane broke up? And you no longer manage this place? And some Sophie chick is into him?" Emma asked, surprised. She thought that they would be together longer. He _did _name a cafe after Rikki.

"Yeah," Rikki said with a frown. And she left it at that.

"And Lewis went to America for college?"

"Yeah," Cleo replied with the same abruptness. And they left it at that.

College plans were talked through. Emma wanted to leave out what had happened her first night back until the moment was right; when they were back at her house. Little did she know that Cleo and Rikki were doing the same thing with anything involving their beach friend and her boyfriend.

Emma approached the topic of the moon pool, and Cleo and Rikki started looking a little nervous. Cleo started to play with her blue crystal necklace, and—

"That crystal looks familiar! Where did you get it?" She asked, genuinely curious.

"Um, a friend made it for Rikki and me. They're beautiful, right?" Cleo answered, a bit hesitantly.

"Oh, definitely. Who made—" Emma started to say, before realizing something. "What happened to our lockets?"

"You gave your's to Cleo, right?" Rikki hastily replied, not quite looking at her.

"I mean, why aren't you guys wearing them? The reason I gave it to Cleo is so that they could be together," Emma said, a little suspiciously.

They looked at each other. She just stared at them like, _Well? Are you going to fill me in?_

"Emma, there's something we have to tell you!" Cleo blurted out.

She leaned forward for a second, thinking. "Listen, if it has anything to do with Mako, we should discuss this at my house," she said under her breathe.

"Yeah, we should go. Right now." Rikki and Cleo glanced over her shoulder, eyes widening.

**~o~O~o~**

The singer didn't know what they were trying to say. They kept looking at her, and she couldn't pick apart their message.

_Maybe that girl's giving them a hard time, _she thought. But she couldn't see the girl's face; the blonde's back was towards her.

Not allowing anyone to hassle her friends, she started to walk over there, her eyes set on the girls. Maybe it was time to step in.

"Hey, my name's Bella. I'm a friend of Cleo and Rikki. Care to introduce me, guys?"

**~o~O~o~**

_A/N: Ok, who _didn't _see that coming? Bella must be introduced! And I swear that it won't be so freaking cliche that Emma really hates Bella, then becomes besties with her and then gets together with Ash. Scout's honor, even though I'm not a scout. And because they make my day, review! MAGICAL WATER POWERS will be granted to those who do! Maybe not…_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: I felt so awkward writing this. Anyway, shoutouts and magical water powers must be given! Thanks to:_

_-LOVERGIRL (Guest)—receives imaginary water magic_

_-delovlies—receives imaginary water magic_

_-fishboy99—receives imaginary water magic_

_(By the way, I can see the "proper" terms for all of these powers thanks to h2o wikia, but I would rather not waste time trying to type them out.)_

**Chapter Four: Confrontation**

"Hey, my name's Bella. I'm a friend of Cleo and Rikki. Care to introduce me, guys?"

She directed the last part of her statement to Cleo and Rikki. But they made it very clear through their body language that they were uncomfortable. _So I messed up, _Bella thought glumly.

The blonde girl that they were talking to turned around, and her eyes widened in surprise and—recognition? It was Ice Queen from the moon pool. Or, better known as Emma Gilbert, Rikki and Cleo's traveling friend.

The air around them was quiet and tense for a few seconds before Emma stepped up to shake Bella's hand. "Emma, also a friend of Cleo and Rikki." Emma's eyes settled on her crystal necklace, then she glanced meaningfully at Cleo and Rikki. _Okay, I'm most definitely confused now…_

The atmosphere was tense and awkward for a moment before she spoke up again. "Well, we had better go. But it was nice meeting you, Bella," she said with a tight, obviously forced smile on her face.

Bella laughed nervously. "You too."

**~o~O~o~**

Cleo was sitting on Emma's bed, twiddling her thumbs, while Rikki was sitting on the floor, her head resting against the wall. Emma was pacing back and forth. And all of them were silent.

She finally mustered the courage to ask, "What happened? When did she find out? How long did you know her before she found out?"

Cleo didn't speak. Rikki fidgeted. "Well, it was opening night of Rikki's; about two weeks before the start of school. We had met her earlier in the day. But it was on a full moon—" Rikki tried to explain.

"So she found out because of the full moon? You had only known her for _less _than a freaking day? You guys started acting weird? And only she noticed? Other people could have noticed! You could've exposed yourself! People like Denman would have taken you away and experimented on you! You would suffer, as would any other mermaid, because guess what; they would not stop with you. How could you have been so careless?" Emma rebuked.

"You don't understand! It wasn't like that! If Bella didn't come along, Rikki would have _died_, Emma!" Cleo shouted in frustration.

"Then help me understand! Tell me everything! Everything from the moment I left, to the moment I. GOT. BACK!" She screamed. She would've flinched at the noise level, but her parents weren't home and at this point, but even if they were, she wouldn't have cared.

"Emma, please, calm down," Cleo tried to reason.

"Tell me what the hell happened while I was gone," Emma said, eerily calmly, yet silently angry. That was pretty much the scariest madness anyone could ever see. It was the kind of angry that told people that it was serious, and that shit was about to go down.

So Cleo and Rikki recounted entire previous year; everything from the water tentacle, to the comet, to the reason why they didn't wear the lockets anymore—they thought that it would make Bella feel uncomfortable and left out. They talked for a good hour, with no pauses. By then, the daylight had escaped, leaving them with a night filled sky and a crescent moon.

Emma laughed bitterly. "You could have contacted me once you found out about Bella and the water tentacle," she said, sourness in her words.

"You know what? You think that you know everything, but you don't. You missed one very big detail. YOU. WERE. TRAVELING. How were we supposed to contact you?" Rikki retorted.

"Two weeks before school started. I would have been in Indonesia at the time, and if I remember rightly, I didn't lose touch with you until I got to Vietnam;_ four weeks _after this ordeal. I should have been kept in the loop!"

"Again, you were _traveling._ How did this involve you at that moment?" Rikki countered.

"Whether you believe it or not, I was your friend. Hopefully, you'll still be mine after this. Which means that I care about your well-being. So, while you were facing all of this, I was in Asia. And Africa. And Europe. And even South America! Mostly fine while you guys were most definitely not! You should have been more careful! And I should have been informed, I could have helped somehow," Emma replied fiercely.

"Well, we're okay now, thanks!" Rikki said sarcastically, standing up.

"If my concern for you guys wasn't enough, how about this selfish reason: what if something bad happened? Like, I don't know—being discovered? I said it before and I'll say it again; they wouldn't stop at you. They'd connect the dots. Knowing Denman, people like her would track me down. I would be experimented on. Our families would be questioned. Put into the limelight. Maybe shunned! So sorry for instead of worrying about _that,_ worrying about you!" Emma shouted.

Cleo was silent, listening to the whole ordeal before exploding. "Stop it! We're friends! We're supposed to be fighting about boys and clothes! What are we doing?"

"Correction: we're freaking _mermaids, _we're not that shallow, and we're sorting this out!" Rikki said loudly.

"I can't handle this nonsense! Look, Emma, I'm sorry for not filling you in. I should have, but with everything that was going on, I guess we were so wrapped up in it that I simply forgot to! I don't want for us to break apart because of _this_!" Cleo pleaded, unshed tears glistening in her eyes.

"Why are you apologizing, Cleo? Emma's the one that blew up on us while we were trying to explain!" Rikki shouted.

"I went out for a swim last night, and guess who I saw in the moon pool? Your friend Bella. I was panicked, and I thought, 'what if she's another Charlotte?' Luckily, I could still think straight, but what if I couldn't? What if I did something horrible to her that was only intended for my protection? For yours? And I was scared, guys. You should have told me! Or were you too busy hanging out with her and shopping and going out for swims?"

"So that's what this is about! You're jealous and insecure!" Rikki said.

"No! I most certainly am not!" _At least that's true._ "I'm just making a point about where your priorities lie; informing me, being _careful,_ or being all buddy-buddy with her? What? Did you think that if you contacted me she would have been scared off? Were you even careful? Two more people know now!" _Well, I'm being brutally honest, _Emma thought.

Cleo stood up, fresh tears streaming down her face. "I'm sorry! We're sorry! But I can't do this!" With that, Cleo fled the room, escaping to her house.

Rikki simply glared at her in disgust. "You just made one of your best friends cry? Because why? You're jealous?" Loathing was evident in her voice.

She mentally scoffed. "I think that it would be best if you left," Emma said, reaching for her phone, about to call Cleo.

"I agree. But don't even think about it. Seriously? Calling her when you're the reason why she's upset? Give her space, better yet, don't call at all."

Emma glared at her until Rikki was out the door. Once Emma could no longer hear her, she collapsed on the bed in exasperation.

_What did I just do?_

**~o~O~o~**

_A/N: Sorry for the lateness! This was just such a huge part of the story. I edited the chapter, thanks to _**watergirl22! **_Jeez, that was intense, huh? It escalated so quickly! And because I love it when you do, follow, favorite, and review!_


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: So sorry for not updating in so long! I've just experienced my first period of Writer's Block and couldn't figure out how to execute this chapter. WikiHow told me to wait it out, so I did. Anyways, shoutouts! Thanks to:_

_-LOVERGIRL (Guest)_

_-Fishboy99_

_-__ObsessedwReading_

_-BrokenHudie_

**Chapter Five: Aftermath**

"—and then she just blew up on us! We were explaining it, and then she just screamed at us! It was like she wanted to yell at us!" Rikki exclaimed, disgruntled.

"But Rikki, what if she won't speak to us again? She's been my friend for forever," Cleo said. Bella fidgeted at that statement.

"We don't need her! We've been fine without her for so long. She doesn't have any reason to be angry with us," Rikki explained.

"That doesn't mean that we were never friends with her!" Cleo said.

"We _aren't _her friends if she's trying to make you—us—feel like shit!"

"Hey, was um…am I the reason why you're fighting?" Bella asked, a bit hesitantly.

"Don't worry; we're sorting this out. Or at least, we're trying to, but Emma is just being a stubborn bitch," Rikki said bitterly.

"Rikki! How could you say something like that?" Cleo gasped. "Emma does have a point!"

"Cleo, just stop defending her, alright? There is no excuse for what she said. We are definitely not the problem here. She is. Don't let her convince you otherwise."

"She knows that she was out of line! She'll apologize when she finds a way to," Cleo explained. Rikki simply bristled and said nothing.

Cleo looked around the moon pool. "Well, I've got to get home. See you later." With that, she swam away.

"It's not really my place to say, but seeing as she made Cleo cry, she seems kind of like a…" Bell trailed off.

"Oh, she's being one. Look, I'm sorry if we made you uncomfortable or anything," Rikki apologized.

"You know, I thought that reunions were supposed to be all happy and full of hugs and kisses and jumping into each others' arms and everything," Bella said.

"Yeah, me too. Me too."

**~o~O~o~**

Emma paced back and forth, contemplating if she should call Cleo, or wait a little bit. She did feel bad, but she couldn't control it. She was just so pissed off—at them, at Bella, at herself. It was as if as soon as she left, they found someone else to befriend. As if she meant absolutely nothing. And then they never called or e-mailed. Emma had decided to give them some space, but something as important as Rikki almost _dying_ should have been conversation starter!

_At least they're okay. Maybe Bella isn't so bad, _Emma thought. _But what the hell? Seriously? They just had to get rid of the one thing that symbolized everything that they had been through? _She was still quite angry about the lockets. They had meant so much to her, and they tossed that aside for a friend who probably wouldn't even mind. It was as if they were trying to forget her. Emma and their friendship. And that feeling sucked.

Even though she was furious at them for being so careless with their secret, and the fact that Rikki thought that Emma was the sour jealous type (she was just the tiniest bit jealous, but who wouldn't be?), she was more hurt than anything. Her parents didn't want her to call back home too much, something about moving on, but she was still allowed to contact them. Through text, instant-messaging, calling, or Skype. She just couldn't spend every waking minute doing so. Cleo and Rikki could have contacted her. But they didn't, because they had either forgot about her or worse, they were _trying _to forget about her. That was what hurt the most. The fact that they were trying to brush off their whole friendship, and then brushing off the brush-off to continue their friendship once being friends had become easier. Confusing? Pretty straightforward to her.

She had texted them. She had left messages every week before her phone and e-mail were disconnected. Yet they had never tried as much as she had. The texts were simple and usually one-worded, mostly '_Cool' _or_ 'Awesome!' _or '_I wish that I was there.' _The '_I'm actually kind of busy right now, can I call you back?' _was common. She thought that she could forget about that when she came back, but now she knew the reason why they never tried. Bella. She wasn't mad at her, but rather her friends, who had valued the her less than the girl they had known for a few weeks. She was no longer special to them. No longer important. No longer a priority, because they wanted friends that could have been there with them all the time. They just couldn't _handle _a long-distance friendship no matter how close they were. No matter how special it was.

That was the worst part.

**~o~O~o~**

_A/N: First off, thanks must be given to my beta,_ **watergirl22!** _And I'm going to be starting a Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus fanfic soon, so keep an eye out for that! __What am I forgetting? R__eview! That's the biggest incentive, you know._


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: All I can say about the lateness is that I can no longer uphold my every other day updating. That was broken a long time ago. But, I plan to update at least every week. This chapter took longer to crank out because I have more than just Emma's or Bella's omniscient third for the shoutouts:_

_-BrokenHudie (guest)_

_-ObsessedwReading_

_-fishboy99_

_-fictionlover94_

**Chapter Six: Boys**

Emma looked at her computer screen once more before dialing the number.

The phone rang three times before being picked up. "Hello?" The male voice called over the phone.

"Is this Ash Dove?"

"Uh—yeah, yeah. And you would be…?"

"Oh God, Ash. I can't believe that you wouldn't recognize your old girlfriend," she teased.

"Emma?" The surprise was evident in his voice.

"Who else? Meet any other girls while I was away?"

"What? No! I didn't have time for that during the school year." Emma let out a breath she didn't realize that she had been holding in. "Where are you?"

"I asked around. I'm outside of the administration office of your school. Mind telling me why you never told me you go to an animal behavioral college? Or where you are? Maybe where you live or something so I can go there?"

"Oh, I'll explain later. I have a place a few kilometers away. Um, I'm out with groceries right now, but I'll be back there in ten minutes, okay? I'm texting you the address right now."

Emma's phone beeped right next to her ear. Looking at the address, she got back on the call. "Alright, I'll be over there soon, waiting for you. See you then."

**~o~O~o~**

"It's just that, with Emma back, everything is _so _tense. I don't even know her, and she hates me," Bella said, a little defeated.

"I'm sure that she doesn't _hate _you, let's think about it. She just came back from traveling the world—sound familiar?" Will replied. Bella simply rolled her eyes.

"Anyways, she travels the world and comes back to find her two best friends, who are mermaids, became friends with another mermaid. They also kept her in the dark about what went on the past year," Will stated, propping his arms up against the edge of the moon pool right next to his removed diving gear.

She curiously asked, "Well, maybe, but why is being a mermaid important?"

"You guys share a secret that pretty much no one understands. That makes you guys—and her a while back—that much closer," Will reasoned.

"Will, she apparently made Cleo cry."

He stilled. "Wait, she made Cleo _cry_?" he said quietly. _"_That's a little messed up," he followed up, a little louder.

"Well, Rikki said that she was trying to make them feel like crap, and Cleo thought that it was her fault that they were arguing," Bella explained.

"Well, do you think that she intended to hurt Cleo?"

Bella thought about it. "No, from what I gathered, they've been friends for a long time. As in, childhood buddies. And you wouldn't really do that to your best friend, right?"

"No, you wouldn't, unless you were crazed with anger."

"She sounded pretty angry according to Rikki."

Will paused. "Try not to meddle in it. You could just end up making it worse, and Emma may not be too happy to see you, even if she doesn't want to rip your head off," Will advised.

_What boyfriend would actively listen to my friend problems? _she thought, before piping back, "Wow, Will. You actually gave me some good advice."

Leaning back, he replied obnoxiously, "Well, don't I always?" She just rolled her eyes.

Will looked at her for a minute, before asking her a question that she had been dreading. "What happened to our date night? You know, the one the day after Zane's giant blowout?"

She paled considerably. "Well, you see…" she stared into his eyes, and faltered. Bella looked down at her tail, before blurting out, "I just had too much to drink at Zane's party the night before that I felt pressured to have and I needed to be alone and swim because I thought that I would be way to nauseous and ruin our date and I swam out here and then found Emma and I never told you because—" She looked at the hand on her shoulder, then looked at the arm connecting and followed her gaze up to his face, where his gentle eyes held a look that told her that everything was fine.

He smiled and bent down to softly kiss her lips. "Bella, you're rambling again."

~o~O~o~

Lewis sat still on her bed for a while before asking, "Why didn't I know that Emma came back?"

Cleo sighed before looking up. "She was most likely going to visit you or talk, but everything happened so fast, and I didn't want to drag you into the crossfire. But here I am, doing exactly that." She sighed once more.

"Can you explain what exactly happened?"

And so she went on to tell him about what how Emma apparently found Bella in the moon pool the night that she got back, Emma meeting Bella, and what ensued at her house afterwards.

"What do I do?" Cleo asked desperately.

"You should talk it out. You guys have faced bigger things before, and if your friendship ends over this, I'm gonna have to say that this is the stupidest decision all of you have ever made," Lewis said thoughtfully.

"But how would I even approach her? She's convinced that we were the ones who ruined everything, and Rikki thinks that she's a heartless bitch!" Cleo stressed.

"I'm not quite sure if _that's_ true, but let's talk about all of your options here, yeah?"

**~o~O~o~**

Twirling a paper-encased straw around, Rikki thought of how she must have no life if she was actually at the cafe by herself. Yeah, sure, before the spilt, this was _exactly _where she would be. But now, she would only come here if she was with Cleo getting a juice, or Bella rehearsing and playing with the band. Not many people were there, and most of them were at the tables talking quite loudly.

She was sitting at the bar, looking at Sophie curiously. She had been surprisingly pleasant ever since graduation. Said redhead (whose hair obviously came out of a bottle) turned around from the blender with a smoothie-filled to-go styrofoam cup, the plastic top already secured on.

"Your strawberry peach-infused juice with extra cream. That will be—" Sophie started punching in the numbers on the register. "If you can excuse me. Something seems to be jammed." She said all of this while avoiding her gaze. Rikki knew why. The guilt of being, or attempting to be, the other girl was catching up to her. Maybe that's why she wasn't snappy around Rikki. Surprising herself, Rikki realized that she no longer held any resentment directed towards the girl. Even though she destroyed the moon pool—which fixed itself with its weird moon magic—and tried to break up Zane and Rikki—with success. She just didn't want to deal with all of her drama anymore, so she decided to forgive.

"Hey Nick, something in the register jammed," she called out to another employee behind the counter.

Walking over, the boy—Nick—tried to use it again. And again. After wiggling and fidgeting with it, he said, "We should probably just get Zane. He's the one who was so set on switching out the registers."

Setting the drink down next to the blender after writing Rikki's name on the cup, she turned to go back to presumably Zane's office. _Oh God, please allow to me to have a _peaceful _day._

A few moments later, Zane came out from the back to have a look. After even _more_ wiggling and fussing around, Rikki suggested, "Reset the drawer."

After Zane did so, he looked up and smiled. "Too bad you're not always here to help."

"I don't work—or manage—this place anymore," she snapped.

"I get it, I get it. Just telling you that you'll always have a spot here waiting for you." He sounded genuine, but he probably didn't expect for her to take him up on his offer.

_I could use the money. _"Well then, when do I start?" Rikki asked. He looked a little shocked before replying, "Um, well, what position do you plan on taking me up on? Co-managing? Co-owning? Waiting tables?"

"How about all of them, seeing as that's what my old job used to take up," Rikki said. Sophie's eyes flitted in her direction before being cast down again.

"But if Sophie's still managing with you, I can just—you know—"

"No. You're going to manage. And co-own. Because you and Zane thought this up. Not me. I was deluded to think that I could take up your spot here," Sophie cut her off. Rikki almost snorted. _More like take up my spot anywhere, _she thought, before yelling at herself to just let go of all of her drama. "Besides, Will isn't the only one that free-dives, or holds an impressive time. I'm going to be training with one of the best coaches in Australia. I won't have the time to work here. So Zane," she turned to her boss, "I'm resigning. I guess that I'll just stick around until my payday. After that, I'm gone."

He looked startled, before saying, "Without Rikki taking me up on my offer, were you just going to spring it on me right before you left? We have a two-week advance policy before you quit."

"Well, my payday is in a week, and Rikki will be here. It all worked out, didn't it?"

"Sophie, you—"

"Oh! Looks like my shift ended. Well, I had better get home. Bye, Zane!" The redhead briskly took off her apron, stuffed it under the counter, and walked out, leaving no more room for conversation.

Zane stared at Rikki, which was starting to make her feel uncomfortable. "Well, um, when do I start?" Rikki asked.

"Well, since today is Friday, why don't you start next Monday?"

"Alright. I'll see you then."

"Yeah."

"This doesn't mean that anything between _us _has changed, you know that, right?"

"Oh, yeah! Yeah. I know, of course," he stumbled out.

Awkward! Rikki thought. "Hey, um, can I have my strawberry-peach juice?"

"Oh, yeah! Yeah. Um, it feels kind of lukewarm. Do you want a new one?"

"That or a refund. Get with it, Zane, especially if you co-manage this place."

"Okay then."

_Well, I just made this hella awkward._

**~o~O~o~**

Triple-checking the text message, Emma tapped her hands on the wheel of her Prius, looking out for Ash. Glancing at her watch_ again, _she noted the overcast sky. The gloominess was starting to get to her.

His neighborhood was an older one; all of the houses seemed to be duplexes. But, it seemed very nice and rather quaint.

She heard, and then saw, a car pull up into his driveway. A moment later, she saw him emerge and start walking towards his door. It was then that she decided to get out of her car.

Opening the door, she called out with a smile on her face, "Hey stranger."

He turned around, equally cheery in the gloom. "Long time, no see," he said, a smile in his voice.

Emma walked up and hugged him. "I've missed you."

"Same here. Do you want to go inside?"

"Sure. Mind telling me why you're going to an animal behavioral school?"  
"Later, Em. You're here to exchange more than pleasantries. I can see it on your face."

"How do you know me so well?"

"I'm your—was—your boyfriend. What do you expect?"

"I don't know. Some big hot-shot horse whisperer now that you're going to an animal college?" She said, emphasizing 'animal college.'

"I'll tell you later, and that's more you." He turned his key in the lock with his right hand while his other was balancing the paper grocery bag.

"Come in, come in. We have a _lot _to talk about."

**~o~O~o~**

_A/N: Well, the boys are introduced! Do I sense some toned down romance? Anyways, thanks to _**watergirl22 **_for beta-reading. Remember, reviews make me happy, so share your thoughts! Thanks for reading! I'm really using too many exclamation marks, but, oh well!_


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